There is a Light that Never Goes Out
by l0stinl0ve
Summary: Sort of sequel to Ruining My Game. Iron Man 3 Spoilers. "But giving your address on national television to a known terrorist?" Darcy shrieks. "I was provoked!" "No." "Let's talk about the bun in your oven. And how I'm only hearing about it now." "Um," Darcy mumbles. "Here, talk to Clint. I have to use the restroom."
1. Long Black Cloud is Comin' Down

_Written for two prompts on avenger kink. One was asking for Darcy as Tony's daughter and included IM3 spoilers, and the other was Clint/Darcy, pregnancy._

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**Long Black Cloud is Comin' Down**

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Darcy shouts through the phone. Tony winces because his daughter is _loud_. He can hear the hurried footsteps of someone in the background.

"Darcy, mind your blood pressure," he chides, because he really doesn't want to be shouted at.

"NO!" She breathes out. He can hear murmuring in the background and secretly hopes that Barton is pulling off the impossible and calming her down. "Okay, let's start from the beginning."

Tony reminds himself to be a little nicer the next time he sees the archer. Maybe he'll expedite the experiments on those new arrows. "You were right. The giant bunny was a terrible idea. Pepper was most displeased."

"Are you kidding me right now?" Her voice starts to rise again.

Tony can hear Barton's distinct voice telling her to think of the baby. And yes, Tony thinks he's too young to be a grandfather. And yes, he was a little upset that he was only finding out after another near-death.

"Dad," she sighs, resigned to dealing with the latest crisis the good old fashion Stark way. Tony almost, _almost_, feels sorry that she can't include the alcohol. He has a good bottle of scotch on the workbench. "That's twice this year you died on me."

And isn't that the truth? Tony is very much aware that this is what his life is now. "Well, first of all, that first time was totally not my fault."

"Semantics." Tony chooses to ignore the scoff that he's sure was Barton.

"And this last time. I was provoked. And did you see what they did to Happy?"

"But giving your address on national television to a known terrorist?" Darcy shrieks. Tony wonders if her boyfriend is cringing just as much as he is.

"I was provoked!" He can't help but repeat himself. He isn't sure whether Pepper is wonderful or not. (She usually is.) But she hadn't lectured him for this. Other than the initial 'let's leave, it's what normal people do' conversation that was interrupted by a missile. Knowing the two most important women in his life, he's pretty sure Pepper planned for him to be stuck on the phone with his daughter. He'd commend her for the genius plan if he wasn't the one being yelled at right now.

"No."

"Let's talk about the bun in your oven. And how I'm only hearing about it now." Derailing the conversation was the second thing he learned after learning to talk.

"Um," Darcy mumbles. "Here, talk to Clint. I have to use the restroom."

Maybe being a grandfather this young would be worth it?

"Tony."

"Oh, I'm Tony now?" Tony snarks. He doesn't think Barton is going to scold him about his most recent actions, but the man was whipped by Darcy so Tony wasn't sure what to expect.

"I'm having a baby with your daughter," he mumbled into the phone. Tony imagines the man is seated in their shared suite at the tower back in New York, cursing Darcy for handing over the phone.

"About that-"

"We didn't plan for it to happen," he interrupts.

"Not sure that's helping your-"

"Fuck. Sir. No, that's not what I meant." The man takes a deep breath, Tony can hear Barton mentally count to ten. "Yes, it was unplanned, but we're both excited about it."

"Really? That's not what I heard." And it's true. Tony is still a little miffed that _everyone_ knew before him. Pepper, Rhodey, Happy (and how did that happen? The man was in the hospital and busy pissing people off with his new badge initiative as head of security.), Bruce, and he'd place a bet on the rest of the team already being aware as well.

"Who have you been getting your intel from?"

"As the father of the pregnant girlfriend, I think I'm supposed to be the one asking the questions here." And Tony is pretty sure that this is the truth. It's what happens in the movies and on tv shows. He never expected to be in this situation (being a father was the last thing he had ever planned for, but boy wasn't it one of the best things to have ever happened to him) but he was going to live it up. Knowing Darcy, and really just the situation in general, this was going to be a one-time deal. If (and he was hoping it was a _big_ if) the pair decided to have more children, Tony wouldn't get to scold the pair for the 'surprise'.

"You're right, sir."

"Exactly. Now, how long have you two known?" The bottle of scotch was looking more and more appetizing, but Tony was going to hold out for when Darcy came back and demanded to learn more about his latest 'death'.

"Darcy told me just before you went missing. We were going to fly out for Christmas and tell you the news then. She got you this thing from Tiffany's that she said you'd appreciate."

"Oh?" Fuck it. One glass wouldn't hurt. And the bottle was more than halfway full. He steps away from his workbench and pours himself two fingers worth of scotch.

"Oh yes," his daughter's excited voice trickles from the background. "It was a small screwdriver. Sterling silver," she says into the phone.

"Like the one you had." And isn't he glad that he poured that drink. Just in time to get back to talking to his daughter.

"Exactly. And it would have been perfect. You'd have opened it and been all awestruck and it would take you mere seconds to figure out what it meant. And I'll throw you a bone here, because you need some positive right now, before I start yelling at you again. But yeah, you'd have figured it out quickly, unlike Rhodey who needed it to be spelled out to him. But _no_. You had to go and die. _Again_."

"I'm pretty sure this is actually the first time I've _actually_ died." He sips at his glass, he's pretty sure he's going to need it for the rest of this conversation. The first time was _missing_. The second time he was only dy_ing_, and no one knew about that. The third time, he had just fallen from a wormhole in the sky only to be saved by his Science Bro's alter ego. He was in shock, _not dead_.

"He's never _actually_ died," Clint points out, over the sound of a woman's moans. And oh, Tony's apparently on speaker. He doesn't want to think about what the duo are doing that would require him to be on speaker. Maybe he's rubbing her feet? That's what you do when preggo? At least that's what he thinks? He's going to have to buy some books. Maybe send some to Barton as well if Darcy hasn't already (and she was half-raised by Pepper, so she probably already did that along with everything else needed).

"Not the point," Darcy groans. "He's disappeared for a couple of months after being attacked. He pretended he wasn't dying when he actually was. His heart was stopped for however many seconds after the portal thing. And the Malibu house exploded off of the cliffside and his body wasn't retrieved. All of that equates _dead_ to me."

"Barton, I'm pretty sure I've already told you this, but Darcy is always right."

"You're not off the hook!" Darcy exclaims, and Tony is imagining her pointing her finger at the phone and he smiles into his glass.

"You have, sir. Unless its against Pepper. And then you have to really think about the odds."

"Good man." Tony raises his glass. He sort of wishes they were on video call, but at the same time, if Darcy was going to continue to lecture him, he didn't think he could handle her disappointed face. Seeing her face could wait.

"Anyway, let's get back to the matter at hand," Darcy says, forcing Tony to pour more scotch.

"Did you really make bobble bombs?" Clint asks.

"Among other things. How did you hear about that?"

"Sitwell pulled the feed for the report."

"Kudos for the taser. I'd like to point out that you totally stole the idea from me. As well as the nail gun."

"Yes, I will admit walking through that hardware store in the middle of bumfuck Tennessee reminded me of your nine year old self. Let's not mention any of this to Pepper."

"Wait what?" Clint asks at the same time another voice (in Tony's actual presence) speaks. "Mention what?"

"Umm," both Starks stutter.

"What are you two hiding from me?" Pepper asks, grabbing Tony's glass of scotch from his hands.

"You didn't tell me Darcy was expecting. So you can wait - how long has she known?"

"Almost three months," Darcy responds just as soon as he finished his question.

"Three months. You can wait three months."

"It's only fair, Pepper." Darcy is on his side in this. Tony knows its because, pregnant or not, Pepper is going to lecture the both of them for their past exploits. They wouldn't be Starks if they didn't know how to exploit loopholes, and there was a strict 'no causing explosions using the stuff in the lab' rule while Darcy was growing up. And seriously, what sort of kid doesn't enjoy explosions? They had a safety wall and Tony wouldn't let Darcy push the big red buttons. That was what You and Butterfinger were for.

"Fine," Pepper isn't one to huff, but Tony would say she had just huffed. "Tell Darcy about the boy."

"What boy?"

"The kid that saved you."

"A kid saved you? How old was he?" Clint asks.

"I don't know. Ten? And he _didn't_ save me."

"Tony, be honest."

"I am being honest. He didn't save me. I saved him first. So it totally negates him saving me."

"Why did a kid have to save you? Dad, we seriously need to have a talk about what you do in your spare time."

"I tinker. And when I met him, I tinkered. Well, I was charging the suit."

"What-"

"If you stop talking I can tell you the whole story." Tony raises his eyebrow, not caring that Darcy and Barton can't see. He's pretty sure his daughter is very aware of the expression he's making based on the tone of his voice. "Quiet time?"

"Yes," Darcy huffs, and Tony is pretty sure she's crossing her arms and pouting based off Barton's snickering.

"Okay, so. After the house fell into the ocean. Because sometimes JARVIS actually makes mistakes," Tony whispers the last sentence. "I was sent to the middle of Tennessee because the last flight path made was for that. We were doing some analysis of the explosion at the Grauman's-"

"It's not called that anymore," Darcy can't help but interrupt.

"Fuck. The Chinese theater, whatever. I was in Tennessee. It was fucking cold. I had to steal a poncho from a wooden indian. The suit malfunctioned, power was drained. I had to drag the shit through the snow. I found a shed/garage/place to hole up. Got ambushed by a ten year old with a potato gun."

"Did he shoot you with it? I hope he shot you with it."

Rolling his eyes at his daughters outburst, Tony continues. "No. I called him out on the long gauge and a few other things. He shot it at something else in the room to prove me wrong. No more ammo."

"Ammateur," Darcy giggles.

"So yeah. The kid showed me where this soldier supposedly detonated a bomb. He wouldn't shut up about New York. I had a panic attack. Again. Walked away and went to see the soldier's mom."

"We'll address that later," Darcy mumbles.

Tony opts to ignore it. Hopefully she forgets. Like he hopes Pepper forgets about earlier. "Got attacked by a crazy lady. Exploded her with dog tags and a microwave. Had a man who was crazy lady's friend melt a water tower. He had Harley-"

"Harley?" Clint asks.

"The kid was named Harley. I guess a normal person would say sweet kid. But he talks a lot. And about things he's told not to. But he did hook me up with a limited edition Dora Explorer watch. So whatever. Anyway. Crazy man had Harley. I gave him this device from the suit earlier. To use on bullies. Kid used it on the crazy man. Went off well. I steal crazy guy's car and drive off, telling the kid to go home and keep a phone nearby. At some point I sort of hijack a newsvan. Fucking speed test was not up to par. I swear once we have the whole clean energy thing handled. We need to work on powerful wi-fi everywhere."

"I am down for that to be part of the Stark legacy." Darcy claps excitedly. Of course the girl gets excited over internet everywhere.

Tony rolls his eyes. "The guy running the van was a little creepy. Had a tattoo of my face. Hacked into AIM. Which apparently hired the crazies. Watched some videos explaining EXTREMIS which fixed these ex-soldiers bodies. Basically found out that the supposed bombs were actually the ex soldiers bodies going boom. Who knew, right? Anyway, called the kid to check on the suit and have JARVIS figure out where the Mandarin was located. You'd think somewhere in the Middle East, right? Well, you'd be wrong. It was Miami. This is where I freaked out again because the suit wasn't ready," Tony rambles, hardly taking a breath, figuring getting through the whole thing as quickly as possible would keep those he care about from freaking out at him.

"Harley reminded me that I was a mechanic, which, kudos to the kid. Souped up his shed/garage/whatever that place was in thanks. I head to Miami after hitting up the local hardware store. Take out the guards and manage to find the Mandarin. Turns out he isn't this crazy pseudo Baptist monk evil mastermind. He's just an actor named Trevor. Crazy man from earlier shows up and I'm handcuffed to a bed. Standing up though, so not as kinky as you'd think. Which, is a good thing. Cause I woke up to an 'ex' or whatever. did the whole scold the scientist or whatever. Get confronted by Aldrich Killian who informs me has kidnapped Pepper. And yeah, whole thing was weird and bad. Maya gets herself killed in attempt to help Pepper. Killian leaves me to two bodyguards. The limited edition Dora Explorer watch goes off letting me know the suit is ready. I try to talk the guys out of being there, of course, they're minions, so they don't listen. Take out a bunch of guards. Watch as the War Machine-"

"Iron Patriot," all three correct him.

"_War Machine_ shoots off into the sky. Get a hold of Rhodey. He's _not_ in the suit. We find Trevor to figure out things. Find crazy man on Air Force One. Guy used the suit to kidnap the president. By the way Darcy, I saved the guys life. He owes me a favor or two, so should you want to use that _silly_ Political Science degree you have an in at the White House."

"Fuck off. President just kidnapped. Finish the story so I can tell you off properly."

"Fine, fine," he sighs. Yes, he had hoped to get out of the scolding, but he knew it was highly unlikely. He could hope though, right? "So, have to save thirteen people who are plummeting to their deaths. Deal with that and then go after Pepper. Find them at a docked oil tanker. Lots of crazy people with that EXTREMIS shit there. Take them all out with my distractions. Save Pepper. Blow up the distractions. Fix Pepper, fix me. And there you have it." He guzzles down the full glass Pepper handed him. This is why he loved her (among other things). The woman understood him. And while she may not agree with his methods, she understood why he did what he did. Most of the time.

He can hear his daughter taking deep breaths over the phone and if he wasn't so afraid of her disappointed look, he would have liked to be on Skype or something.

"Dad, how long would it take you to get to New York?"

"Unexpected question. Totally off topic-"

"Dad!" She shouts, and Tony doesn't like the unease seeping out of her voice.

"Three hours if we push it? Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she cries out.

"Somethings wrong," Barton says into the phone, speaker clearly turned off now.

"Barton, get Bruce. He's in the tower." Tony starts ordering.

"If its absolutely necessary we have a private room set up at Lenox Hill," Pepper takes the phone from Tony. Tony's heart rate spikes. While he hadn't had an anxiety attack since the snow outside the car en route to Miami, hearing his baby girl in that much pain, reasons unknown was definite panic inducing.

"Tony, take a deep breath. Darcy will be fine," Pepper murmurs into his ear, pulling him into her arms. She's rubbing his back as she speaks into the phone once more. "We're on our way Clint. Keep us posted."

Hanging up, Pepper takes charge and pulls Tony off the floor.

"We need to go."

"Yes, we will. Once you've calmed down. Tony. She's going to be okay. She's pregnant. Things like this happen all the time. She's probably going to be put on bed rest for a short span of time," Pepper says, in the most soothing tone. One that Tony hates because she hardly ever uses it, and when she does, it's truly warranted, and he just hates those times.

"She's not going to like that," he finally manages to respond.

"No, she's not. And she's going to blame you because it's probably high blood pressure and she's going to say that worrying about you is the cause of it. So as punishment, you'll be in charge of entertaining her and keeping her from overexerting herself."

"She's really not going to like that."

"Well, it's what you both deserve for disobeying rules meant for the safety of a nine year old."


	2. Sliding on the Rainbow

**Sliding on the Rainbow**

When Darcy was three, her grandfather tried to give her a newborn doll. Howard Stark was an old fashioned man. He had certain expectations, especially when it came to gender roles. It didn't matter that he knew two really badass women (his wife being one of them), he still thought his granddaughter should be playing with dolls.

Darcy had looked at it for a solid minute, doing the eyebrow thing her grandmother taught her, and decided she was _too cool_ for dolls. Instead, she dragged her grandfather to the nearest Toys r' Us and made him buy her a toy tool kit. It was awesome. It was red and yellow and had a hammer and _everything_.

She never looked back.

When she was five, and most girls were busy playing in Barbie's Dream House, her grandfather offered to build her _the best_ dream house. Instead, she forced the man to work with her dad to build her a Darcy's dream workshop. The room was small, the size of a walk-in closet, off of her bedroom, and had plenty of spare parts and _real_ tools. Her favorite was a sterling silver one that her dad gave her. She never actually used it, but when she designed her first security system at the age of six - it was her way of coping with her grandparents' deaths - the screwdriver, along with a ring from her grandmother, and the handprint from that first newborn doll became the 'keys' to get in.

So yeah, her experience with babies were pretty much disregarding that newborn doll. And only ever taking it out to play when she wanted to get into her inner sanctum.

Therefore, finding out that she was going to be a mother was sort of scary. It was more than scary. It was terrifying, and Darcy wasn't even going to bother denying it. She was confident in her awesome, but the sprog growing in her belly, well, that was definitely unexpected. Darcy was an awesome young woman, she was very well aware of that fact.

But an awesome mom?

She didn't really think so.

What even makes an awesome mom?

Sure, Darcy had Pepper as an example, but first of all, Pepper hadn't become a part of her life until she was eight. Second, she wasn't really her _mom_, but more of an awesome aunt-slash-babysitter that liked to team up with her against her dad. Which was _great_, but not something a mom usually did? Or did they? Darcy had no idea.

For the first six years of her life, she had Maria Stark to look to as an example. But she was Darcy's grandmother. And a grandmother was very different than a mom. Darcy knew this for a fact, as she asked her Nana once. It was right after a playdate with a couple of other young girls. They forced five-year-old Darcy into joining a tea party - which she'll admit, she ended up enjoying, but she drew the line at the dolls - and talked about how they were the mommies to the silly dolls. Darcy had asked them how they knew they were a mommy, and they each had replied the same thing. "Because we do what our mommy does." So of course, Nana, being the only adult female figure in Darcy's life, was who she assumed was her mother. Asking her that during their weekly brunch in front of her father and Popop was hilarious in retrospect. But she could still recall holding back tears asking why she didn't have a mommy like the other girls.

Apparently, Darcy did have one, but she had died during childbirth.

For a five-year-old, the little girl was an expert on guilt. She refused to play any games, wore black because JARVIS told her it was the mourning color, and cried whenever she heard the word 'mom' or any variation.

It was a shitty few months. Especially because the little girl's guilt made her father feel guilty too.

Darcy knew now that her dad was eighteen when she was born. That he was already well into his playboy ways and had accidentally gotten her mother pregnant. She may have been unplanned, but Darcy knew that Tony had changed his ways the moment he found out he was going to be a dad. The good behavior continued when he realized he was going to be a single father. And it lasted until a five-year-old felt guilty for 'killing' her mommy.

It was three months into little Darcy's guilt trip that she ran into the first floozy. Well, they were floozies now, but back then the young impressionable girl didn't know what to call them. She had ran into her daddy's room, afraid from a nightmare or other, to find some strange woman in his bed. The woman, whoever she was, screamed, jumped out of the bed, and hid in the bathroom. Darcy, of course, in all her five-year-old wisdom asked if that was her new mommy.

Tony didn't take that very well. And the 'bad' behavior that he had been hiding for those few months stopped once more. Darcy, though, finally realized that her daddy was looking for something she couldn't provide changed her ways. No more feeling guilty about not having a mommy. She had an awesome dad right there.

They were happy again, and Darcy forgot all about not having a mom. Tony was actually a great dad and proved that not having a mom around wasn't really necessary to Darcy's well-being.

She had Nana for a female role-model, and sometimes Auntie Peggy would come around and tell her awesome stories about Captain America that sounded more true than her Popop's stories.

For all the demure, gentle qualities her Nana exuded, Auntie Peggy was the opposite. She was brash, brutal, and honest. The woman looked like a pushover, but she did not take crap from anyone, and everyone knew it.

Auntie Peggy was awesome. The lady didn't stick to social norms, and never forced Darcy to those confinements. When her Popop would insist on the girl wearing a dress, Auntie Peggy would show up with a cute pair of trousers for Darcy to wear. When the older lady found out about the doll incident, she made sure that the little girl got some transformers to play with. They didn't look like dolls, and they _transformed!_ They were her favorite toys besides the tool kit. And yeah, Darcy totally took them apart to figure out how they worked, and she totally didn't get in any trouble for it. Which was great, because the three-year-old Darcy was _scared_ and hid the toys for a week so that no one saw them broken into pieces. And when they were finally found - Darcy was still a little miffed at Dummy for unearthing them in the corner of her daddy's workshop, as punishment she had made the robot a DUNCE hat (that her father still used) - Auntie Peggy laughed, exclaiming how she was just like her daddy and Popop.

Darcy preened in remembrance. For the three-year-old, being compared to her daddy or Popop was everything she could ever ask for. Everyone explained how important being a Stark was. Even though it wasn't her name, Darcy tried really hard to show that she was a Stark in blood.

But her daddy - in a bout of sobriety? Clarity? Deciding to actually listen to Howard for once? - decided that Darcy needed a little more female influence in his life. And for a while, Darcy found herself in the company of her Nana and Auntie a lot more often.

Her Nana was a femme fatale, a woman who you never expected to be as badass as she really was. Her Auntie Peggy was even _more_ badass than you could imagine. Between the two of them, they made sure Darcy had a solid foundation on being one seriously awesome chick. And all before she was five.

So, Darcy had some great material to pull from on the whole 'how to be a mother' front, but still.

She was scared shitless.

Telling people scared Darcy even more. Again, she was awesome, she knew this. But telling people that her awesome self managed to get pregnant after only a few months of actually having sex with her boyfriend wasn't very awesome. All things considered.

It was just her luck really. Date a guy for over a year where they were only in each other's company for maybe a third of that time. Finally have sex, and a few months later manage to get pregnant.

Seriously, just her luck.

And she knew that once her dad got over the shock of the news, the man would laugh in her face. Well, whatever, at least she was twenty-five. And she was totally okay with throwing that back at him. She was freaking out here, and having the man who'd been there for her whole life laugh at her was just not cool. Not cool.

So, she really, really wanted her dad right now. Like, this was life altering, and sure, she tended to disregard what her father said - she started college as a history major, switched to english literature, and then finally settled on political science (her dad wanted her to do something useful like engineering or physics, or god forbid, biology, just something _Science!_) - but she just wanted the man around to hug. He didn't do hugs often, so when he did, they were _magical_. And she needed one of her dad's magical hugs right then.

She also needed a drink, but no, she wasn't allowed anymore. And that was going to suck. It was going to be obvious she was preggers when she declined a drink the next time she went out with the team. But whatever. Darcy knew it wasn't good for a growing embryo. And, yes, she was scared, but she wasn't stupid. And the idea of a baby - unplanned, sure, but whatever - was actually sort of exciting. If (more like when) she got over the shock, she knew she was going to become one of those crazy pregnant ladies. Poor Clint.

And fuck. She had to tell Clint. She should tell him before her dad, sure. But did she have to tell Clint first? Because that was a conversation she'd be very happy to avoid for a bit. Like, until she had her head wrapped around the news.

"JARVIS," Darcy finally called out, looking up to the ceiling, even though she knew better. Grabbing the seventh pregnancy test, she wrapped it with toilet paper, and then placed it in a biohazard bag she stole from Bruce's lab with the other six she had taken. "Can we keep this our little secret for now? Like, don't tell my dad because I really should tell Clint first, you know?"

"Of course, Darcy," the soothing British voice replied. Sometimes, she wished she actually had managed to convince her dad to make a robot embodiment to go with the AI, just so she could hug him.

"And, umm, maybe, can you get a hold of Pepper? Like, when she's not busy and far away from dad?"

Sure, she was going to tell Clint before telling her dad. That was only fair, right? But Pepper was practically her mom, or like, the older sister figure who slept with her dad? Babysitter that hooked up with the parent? That sounded best. But really, Pepper was the woman figure she had always ran to as soon as the older woman became a part of her life (especially after the fiasco of finding her dad after getting her menses for the first time), so it only made sense for Darcy to seek her out in this moment of need.

"She is currently in a meeting, but I've notified her to contact you as soon as she's available."

"Thanks J." Taking deep breaths, Darcy started practicing some of the calming techniques Bruce always insisted she learn. At the time, she had scoffed at his face, but now, she wished she paid better attention. All she has is the fake lamaze she has seen on tv to go on.

Relocating to the living room, she collapsed on the couch.

So, she was going to be a mother in a seven or eight months. Now that she was finally calming down, she could speculate who would react worse. Her dad or boyfriend. And fuck, was Clint going to be all gentlemanly and force them to get married?

And it's not like it would be _forcing_ her. Because she had totally thought about it. She didn't have a dream wedding planned out - she was never one of those girls. Although, if she got to wear her Nana's dress, she'd be happy. She only thought about what it would be like to be married. She figured it'd be much the same as it was now, except they'd have different titles and rings to go with it.

Whatever. She won't let the man ask her to marry him if its only because they were having a child. But it'd be pretty cool if he asked and they got married before her dad grew the balls to ask Pepper. Rhodey would finally have to teach her to fly a helicopter if Darcy managed to get married before her father.

Bet he didn't see that coming.

"Darcy?"

She was startled from her thoughts by Pepper's face coming onto the tv. "Hi Pepper."

"Are you okay? JARVIS sounded worried." Pepper's eyes were scanning her all over. Darcy would giggle if she didn't think it would turn into hysterical tears. She was calm before, but now that she was going to have to tell someone, the calm disappeared.

"Pepper? Do you think you could schedule a board meeting or something here in New York?"

"Definitely, I'll be there by tomorrow. But what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything." If there was ever a time to want a mother, now was it. Really, if Darcy couldn't have her dad's magical hugs. A hug from Pepper was pretty darn close. "I just really need you right now."


	3. Lullaby for a Stormy Night

This is from Pepper's POV, and I had problems trying to write it that way. I hope I did okay.

* * *

**Lullaby For a Stormy Night**

Pepper had rushed to New York as quickly as she could. Telling Tony that a last minute board meeting was being called to discuss the fourth quarter projections and where Stark Industries stood to make them. She was pretty sure as soon as the word board meeting left her mouth Tony stopped paying attention, something she was counting on.

Pepper was anxious, nervous, and a little excited. The anxiousness and nervousness was easy to pinpoint. Darcy had sounded distraught and troubled over the phone, and Pepper was afraid of what would make Darcy feel that way. The excitement she felt was that she realized that Darcy had called her first. Not Clint. Not Rhodey. Not Tony. But _her_.

It had never happened before.

So she was worried beyond belief, but she was also excited to be called. Growing up, Darcy had always called Tony first. Then Tony would realize a woman was needed to handle whatever had Darcy in tears and would send for Pepper. No matter what, where, or when.

When Darcy was eleven, Pepper had been working for Tony for three years. The young girl had started her menses, and the look on Tony's face was priceless. Pepper liked to think that Darcy would have called Pepper first if she hadn't planned for JARVIS to take photos and record video of Tony's expression.

Darcy was a heartbreaker as a teenager, but the one time, when the girl was only nineteen, she managed to get her own heart broken. It was two in the morning and Pepper had already gone to bed, was probably in a deep rem sleep cycle, dreaming of something or the other, when her phone had gone off. Tony, unsure of how to get his daughter to stop crying had called the only woman he knew. Pepper had rushed over as quickly as possible and simply held the girl as she cried. The next day, they watched silly romantic comedies and threw popcorn at the screen. It seemed like something that the girl would do with Tony, but it had meant the world to Pepper to have bonded with her in such a way. Between the laughs, the girl would sob her heart out, and all Pepper could do was give her a hug.

And oh how Pepper hoped that this wasn't like that. She didn't think Clint would have left Darcy. They fought every once in awhile, yeah, but over really stupid things. The biggest fight the pair had was when he tried to keep Darcy in the dark about what happened during New York. That was a loud affair, and Pepper knew about it because Tony complained how he couldn't interfere as it was before the team was aware of his relationship with Darcy. Luckily, Darcy was tenacious and hard-headed. The most stubborn person Pepper knew, and she included Tony Stark in that list. Eventually, Clint had caved, and Pepper recalled helping Darcy come up with outings the pair could go on to keep his mind off of things.

The pair were so blindingly in love that Pepper knew Tony wanted to go to Malibu to get away from the 'sickening sight' (his words). She thought they were really cute and she was really happy for the girl.

If the pair were fighting, Pepper could understand why Darcy had called her. Calling Tony would only encourage the man into inventing something to annoy the other Avenger. Jane was away in Norway, so reaching her best friend was out. Natasha was more of Clint's friend, so Pepper could see why the girl wouldn't want to talk about whatever fight the couple could be having with the spy. She wouldn't think about how she was the only person available for the girl to call, and that being the only reason. Pepper had been in Darcy's life since she was eight, they had a bond. It wasn't maternal, Pepper would never overstep like that, but they were still close.

So the reason behind this call, Pepper didn't know what to do. So she prepared for anything. She made sure she had extra tissues in her bag, a bottle of tequila (it was to Darcy what scotch was to Tony), and had JARVIS ready with the romcoms Pepper knew Darcy enjoyed (_10 Things I Hate About You_, _About a Boy_, _Clueless_, _Love Actually_, _She's All That_, and _Simply Irresistable_). And if Darcy wasn't in tears because she was heartbroken, and actually angry, Pepper was also prepared. She had preemptively booked an hour at the local laser tag arena. Had JARVIS queue up some of Darcy's favorite action movies (_Batman and Robin_, _Casino Royale_, _Fifth Element_, _Men in Black_, _Serenity_, and the Bourne Series). The girl enjoyed the irony, and Pepper could agree, and hoped that Darcy was more angry than sad because she actually enjoyed that particular queue more. She also brought one of Tony's prototype bombs that was meant for one of Tony's new suits. Pepper figured if she let Darcy detonated it on the Hulk-proof sub-level, it would cheer the girl up either way.

Sad or angry, Pepper was prepared, as she always was.

But she wasn't prepared for the _actual_ news Darcy gave her.

It wasn't until Pepper met the Starks that she found herself gaping. And she would only ever gape from news coming from or about them. It became a regular occurrence. She learned to keep her teeth extra clean, because of it.

And this. This was big. This was huge.

She totally teared up because Darcy had told her before Tony.

It was sort of a secret, but Pepper couldn't have children. She had known this before working for Stark Industries, she learned it when in college, actually. Only Tony knew about it. It was something they had discussed once, back when she was still that bright-eyed PA, when he had actually managed to get Pepper drunk enough to admit that even if she wanted kids in the future, she couldn't.

She liked to pretend that after that night, Tony was pushing her to spend more time with his daughter because he wanted them to get along, not to fill some hole that Pepper rarely paid attention to.

Stark Industries had became her child. And Tony Stark could probably be considered one too. So she didn't need a baby.

And now, it was okay. She and Tony were together. They watched Darcy grow up. They were working on leaving her the best possible legacy with the company. Pepper was considered one of the best (the list included men, and Pepper was most proud of this) CEOs in the world. She didn't have time for children.

But sometimes she could wish. Could dream.

"I know this is like. Totally unexpected. But umm. Like, Clint's parents aren't around, you know? And dad. Well. He's dad. And I'm pretty lucky to have turned out so great. And to live this long. And I know a lot of that has to do with you. You know?" Darcy couldn't look Pepper in the eye, just shook in her seat on the couch and continued. "And this kid. My kid. Well, the baby is going to need _one sane_ grandparent. So, even though dad hasn't gotten his act together yet. And even if he never does. And you two manage to split because he's finally pushed you too far. Totally understandable. But like. Since I was eight, you've been sort of like. A mom-figure. But it was weird, because I was eight. But with this baby. You're going to be there from day one. And like," Darcy rambled, finally taking a deep breath, turned to look directly at Pepper. "Do you want to be called Grandma? Nana? Grandmother? Gamma? I don't know what other variations there are. I'm partial to Nana cause that's what I called mine. And like, you look so young. I'm sorry to make you a grandmother so-"

Pepper threw herself at the younger woman. Arms wrapped tightly, she cried into Darcy's shoulder. There was a running joke in the Starks, one that Tony would always share when referring to his deceased parents. He would say that it was the best story he had of his dad (no longer true) but it went something like this. _Being a grandparent is the best. It's like being a parent. You get to spoil the kid rotten. Get to feel all that love. But when they start crying or misbehaving. You can give it back to its parents._ Pepper would never abandon the child if it was crying or bad, but this. Darcy was giving her the closest she could ever get to her biggest dream. "Gamma. I like Gamma. It's cute and not too old sounding," she chuckled wetly.

Patting her on the back, Darcy, also in tears, asked, "Why you crying?"

"Just. Darcy, _you're having a baby._" Pepper exhaled. Leaning back, she looked at Darcy's flat stomach. "A baby!"

"A baby," Darcy grinned, face splotchy from the little crying bit the pair just went through.

"Okay, okay." Pepper took a deep breath. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out the tissue and handed some to Darcy.

Giggling, Darcy took the tissue and wiped her face. "Did I finally stump you? Something your bag of tricks can't supply something for?"

"I think so."

Throwing both hands into the air, Darcy shouted, "Ha! When we finally tell Rhodey, I can collect. JARVIS, log this."

"Of course, Darcy."

"I still don't understand how you got him to call you by your name. I've been around for more than ten years and I'm still Miss Potts."

"She convinced me that because we were both made by Sir, that we were siblings and siblings refer to the other by their first name."

"That actually makes sense," Pepper pursed her lips, "in a weird way."

"Eh." Darcy shrugged. "I'm a Stark."

"And you're going to be having a baby!" Pepper clapped her hands excitedly. "We're happy, yes?"

"Yes. We weren't planning for it. We've only been having sex for a few months now. But I think this is good news. Do you think Clint won't think it's good news?" Darcy wrung her hands.

"I'm not particularly close with him, but I know that the man loves you dearly, so I'd imagine he'd be happy to be having a child with you."

Smiling, Darcy looked at Pepper shyly. "He loves me?"

Shoving her, Pepper said, "Don't play coy. I know you both say it to each other all the time."

"Yeah. We do."

"And you're going to tell him?"

"When he gets back from this latest mission," she pouted. "I miss him."

"I'm sure. How are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. Maybe get a baby bow or something? I had that small screwdriver when I was little. I can already tell Clint is going to want our kid to be an archer. Which is cool. I guess. As long as the arrows aren't sharp." Darcy's eyes grew. "Is this what it was like? Pepper, was this how you felt when I was in dad's lab? Oh my Thor! I'm going to be a parent." She made a disgusted face.

Laughing so loud, Pepper covered her mouth. "Yes. You'll have to think about safety before fun."

"That sounds horrible," Darcy hissed. "And God, me and Clint are all about fun. JARVIS, you are officially on safety duty. I give you permission to disregard me and Clint if our child's safety is in question. And you need to remind us and all that."

"Yes, Darcy." It sounded as if the AI wanted to laugh, and Pepper knew that JARVIS was only ever like that with Darcy. _They were siblings, afterall_.

"I won't need a contract until the kid's older, yeah? I didn't have one until I was fifteen, and that was just cause me and dad needed the rules written somewhere."

"You should be okay. But you will need to babyproof."

"The whole tower?"

Nodding, Pepper pulled her StarkPad from her purse and began adding items to the to-do list. _Hire contractors. Hire baby-proof expert._

The device was snatched out of her hands, and Darcy was glaring at her. "No. You can do that later. Right now, you're here to be the supportive aunt- slash- babysitter- slash- dad's- girlfriend that you are."

"Is that how you refer to me in your head?" Amused, Pepper teased.

"I tried calling you mom a few times," Darcy whispered. "It felt wrong."

"Hey." Placing a hand on the girl's knee, she squeezed. "It's okay."

"I never had a mom. I had Nana and Auntie Peggy. And you. And I'm totally the badass chick I am because of all of you. But I've never had an _actual_ mom. How am I supposed to know what to do?"

"Here's a secret," Pepper replied, scooting closer to the girl. "Most parents don't actually know what they're doing. They sort of play it by ear and hope for the best."

"That's dumb," Darcy giggled.

"But the truth."

"I guess." Shrugging, Darcy threaded her fingers with Pepper's. "And I do have a pretty good example to use. Pepper, I don't think I've ever said it, but thanks."

Tears pooling in her eyes once more, Pepper smiled. "No need-"

"No, really. I mean, I'd probably have died by now without you. After Nana and Auntie Peggy. It was just you. And dad. I love the man. But he's really not made out for parenthood, you know? Like, we couldn't even have a Lorelei-Rory sort of parent-daughter relationship."

"I don't think anyone could compare to the Tony-Darcy sort of parent-daughter relationship," Pepper joked. "But hey! I can totally see you being like Lorelei."

"Oh man, yes!" Darcy clapped once. "And we can have a weekly dinner with you and dad. But Clint is there, but he can just be like Luke and that sort of works, maybe? I don't know."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, just thinking on the future.

"Fuck it, we're going to be Darcy and Clint and whatever we decide to name the baby. We'll have dinner more than once a week with you and dad if we feel like it, not because we have it scheduled weekly."

"Any ideas on names? And no matter what your dad says, please don't name it Daryl. I don't care how much the three of you enjoy _Walking Dead_, you better not name your child after a character from the show. I don't care how awesome of an example he is for a zombie apocalypse."

Chuckling, Darcy shook her head. "Definitely not. I don't know. Don't laugh, okay. But I really like the name Merida, if its a girl."

"Merida Barton? Merida Lewis Stark?"

"Barton. Definitely Barton. I hated not having Stark as my last name growing up. Felt like I had more to prove."

"You could always change it, you know." Pepper pointed out.

"No point now."

Pepper's eyes grew large, jaw dropping. "Are you and Clint-"

"Not yet. Maybe in the future?" Darcy shrugged. "I want to marry him. When he asks. And not because I'm pregnant."

"That's fair." Nodding, Pepper pulled out the bottle of tequila. "You mind? I can get you some lemonade or something?"

"I think I'm going to miss the booze the most."

"No. Your clothes. Shoes. Body. So many better things to miss than booze."

"True," Darcy cried, standing to get two tumblers from the bar, as well as some apple juice. Handing a tumbler to Pepper, she watched as the alcohol was poured. "But I will still miss the booze."

"You _are_ Tony Stark's daughter." Clinking her glass to Darcy's, she toasted, "To the baby."

"To the baby."


	4. Dreams Stay Big, Worries Stay Small

**Dreams Stay Big, Worries Stay Small**

Sitting on the quinjet, Clint was looking forward to getting back home. It was a weird feeling that he was slowly getting used to. Until that first op in New Mexico, Clint never really thought beyond the mission. And when not on one, he was antsy for the next one, going so far as to bother Phil into sending him out on minor ops.

Then he met Darcy Elizabeth Lewis (Stark).

All he was supposed to do was be the eyes while in Puente Antiguo. Watching the Asgardian alien-god take down an entire team of agents more than made up for being in the middle of nowhere. Finding a girl was like adding icing to the cake.

While getting a beer when off-duty, he met the spitfire assistant for their latest mark. One beer turned into two, into four, and him walking her back to the lab and a kiss on his cheek.

He was smitten.

Somehow, that evening turned into spending all his off-duty time with her. She managed to convince him to help her get her iPod back, so much as turning a blind eye when she hacked her way onto the base and stole it from under Phil's fingers (not really, because seriously, Phil had eyes _everywhere_, but she did take it from his office when Phil was off base).

More drinks between them. More kisses goodnight.

He was more than smitten.

They traded numbers, spoke on the phone when they could, texted when they couldn't. For once, Clint had someone worrying about him when he went out on an op. Tasha and Phil didn't count since they were normally on the op with him. But Darcy. Whenever he would call her after getting back, the sound of her voice made everything worth it.

Before her, SHIELD was just a job. A means to get his record clear, turned into just living, of not being dead. With her in his life, it became more than that. He now understood why Phil did it. Why Fury and Hill worked so hard. Granted, for them it was more of a general sense, but Clint understood it now. He was working to protect a loved one back home.

It felt good.

That is, until he was used to seeing her on a more regular basis.

The first year of their relationship, if you added all the facetime together, was perhaps a month or so. Darcy didn't trust her math, but that's what she told him it was.

And that was fine. An afternoon or a weekend when he could manage was more than enough. Not to wax poetic, and he'd deny it to anyone and everyone, but her lips were like heavenly clouds, kissing them was just...

"Agent. We're ten minutes out."

Clint nodded at the junior agent flying him back to New York. It was weird. Being on an op without the team. Not even Natasha was on this one. But Sitwell knew that Clint wasn't interested in anything long-term, so he was only sent for missions with week-long durations at most, two-weeks if things went FUBAR (almost a month, that one time, forcing Sitwell to really consider the ops he sent the Hawkeye on). Natasha was working with Steve, and while Clint wasn't supposed to know, he knew it had to do with a Red Room operative. So he wouldn't deny Tasha the chance to work on that mission just cause he missed his partner.

Plus the woman found him being all lovesick disgusting.

To each their own.

Where was he? Oh, right. Seeing Darcy right after the Battle of New York (And what sort of name was that? The place was attacked every other month.) was a blessing in disguise. After getting his head knocked straight (he still owed Tasha for that), going immediately into a warzone didn't afford him the time to really think about what happened while he was under. The two-days between that and sending Loki home, he was too busy in debriefings and helping with the cleanup to really stew in his thoughts.

So seeing her, holding her in his arms, kissing her, it made it easy to forget all his problems. That is, until she forced him to talk about it. It was still an ongoing issue, one where he would make a random statement, and that would be that. Or he would actually sit there and have a full blown conversation about how he felt about planning the Helicarrier attack and the guilt he had for the death of Phil.

Like he said, ongoing issue. They were working on it.

She stayed though, held him through his nightmares, kissed him just because. He loved the woman, and yeah, they'd only been together for just over a year, but while he was in Belgium for the mission, he swung by Antwerp to pick up the perfect gift for the upcoming Christmas holiday.

The small velvet box was sitting in his bow case.

He loved Darcy, and intended to spend the rest of his life with her. Clint knew that this life wasn't really meant for settling down and being a normal family. But that was the thing about Darcy. She didn't do normal. She was the kid of Tony Stark, and was allergic to normal (her words).

Before he even knew that she was Tony's daughter, after their first weekend spent together, he had asked her if she could do this, handle a relationship with a man who would be gone on missions.

He'll never forget what she told him. _"I'm used to it. My dad, he does what he has to to protect me. What you're doing. It's in order to protect me, too. Just be smart, be as safe as you can, and return home to me._

And that's what she was. She was his home.

"Clint!" Darcy shouted, running across the rooftop, jumping up into him, wrapping arms and legs around his torso.

Grinning, he breathed her in. "Darcy."

"I missed you," she cried into his neck.

"Hey, hey." He walked back towards the elevator. "Don't cry."

Sliding off him, she kept her arms around him. "They're happy tears. You're home. Are you hurt?"

"Naw," he shrugged. "Easy mission. Only took too long cause the mark kept moving about the city. Couldn't get a good shot till a few days ago."

"Do you have to debrief? Sitwell isn't here." Twining her fingers into his, she pulled him out of the elevator towards their suite.

"Already did. Came straight here after." He pushed her into the wall, giving her a kiss to make up for the week he was gone.

Pushing him away enough so that she could breath, she spoke into his lips. "What was that for?"

"I missed you."

"Missed you too." Giving him a chaste kiss, she pulled him into their home. Dragging him onto the couch, she shoved him down, and straddled his hips. "Do you need to clean up?"

"No. This. This is good." He pulled her into him, licking along the seam of her lips, begging entrance.

"Wait," she huffed, "I want to talk to you first." Pulling back so she sat on his knees, she looked him in the eyes.

Wary, and a little apprehensive, he tried to pull her into one more kiss. Girl was strong though and held her place, hands firmly placed on his shoulders keeping her at length.

"I'm serious."

Arching a brow, he gave her a dubious look.

"It's nothing bad." She told him, followed with a quiet mutter of "At least I hope not?"

"Darce, just talk to me. You never have problems talking." He wanted to laugh, but he was worried. Maybe this mission was the one that was the one too many. Maybe in the week he was gone, she realized that she couldn't handle it, that their love wasn't enough, that-

"Well. Okay. So just shut up and let me talk," she interrupted. Clint focused on her eyes. They didn't look sad, more scared than anything. He had really only seen that look once, that night Tony kept them from enjoying a tryst in the media room. He rubbed her back, trying to convey that he would be there for her no matter what.

"Is it Tony?"

"No, you idiot. Just let me talk." She playfully shoved him, but kissed his cheek as well. Making herself comfortable, she moved forward so that she rested on his thighs, steepling her fingers at the base of his head, thumbs playing with the short hairs on his neck. "Just. Okay. Don't freak out. Because I already did that, and we both know me freaking out is enough for the both of us. But like. You see. You remember when you were on that mission. The one in Jakarta. And okay, I know I'm not supposed to know that. JARVIS don't let anyone know I know that."

"Of course, Darcy," the AI voiced, giving Darcy a chance to breathe and for Clint to try and figure out what she was trying to say.

"So yeah. You were in Jakarta for like, two weeks, and it was the first really long mission you had gone on since we moved in together. I wasn't used to you being gone, and all that. And I was sick for a few days. I think I told you that. Well, Bruce had me on this antibiotic that did funny things to my birth control. And I only know this because I was having some serious cramps that I don't normally get and that's what Bruce told me. Well, I totally forgot about it, because the cramps went away and I stopped being sick. Then you came home, and I was so happy to see you and we practically had sex on the roof. Again, JARVIS, don't tell anyone about that. Especially dad."

"Of course, Darcy."

Clint was a little confused, but if what he was hearing was what he was comprehending, then he believed he knew where Darcy was going with this.

"You're pregnant," he said, voice as expressionless as possible, face blank. He thinks he's excited about this. Actually, he knows he's excited about this. But she's hyperventilating in his lap, so maybe it isn't a good thing? "Yay?" he quips, lifting the side of his mouth a tad, just in case he needs to pretend to be unhappy at a moment's notice.

"Well, to me its a yay thing," she answered, staring at his shoulder. Her hands are fingering through his hair, making him sigh. "Is it a yay thing for you?" He can see her forcing herself to look him in the eye. Her back straightened, daring him to tell her this is a terrible thing.

"Well," he responded. He has to be honest. "I'm more anxious than excited at this very moment." And it's the truth. Bringing a kid into the world is a _big deal_, and he already worries about Darcy's safety. At least she can protect herself. Adding a miniture person to the mix is just asking for trouble. "How old were you when you got a taser?" He snarked, stopping the frown from forming on Darcy's face.

Giggling, she kissed his cheek. "I was eleven. And our kid won't be getting a taser until way past that. You and Nat can teach our kid hand-to-hand. And Steve can teach the kid to box. And Bruce can teach the kid martial arts. And dad will. Well, we won't let dad around the kid without supervision."

Chuckling, he pulled Darcy into a hug. "Tony won't like that."

"Well, he wasn't allowed alone with me for like, the first year. Nana was always around. Which I guess is good, otherwise I'd have lived in a dirty diaper. And eew. You're totally on diaper duty for putting me in this mess."

"Excuse me." Nibbling at her shoulder, he placed a hand on her stomach. "Didn't you just say you were sick and it was _your_ birth control that went faulty? I think that means, it's _you_ whose at fault here."

"Semantics." Shrugging, she kissed the tip of his nose.

"We can share the blame?" He asked, as he pulled them off the couch and started walking towards their bedroom.

The combination of 'I miss you' sex, 'welcome home' sex, and 'celebratory' sex should have tired him out. Darcy is laying in his arms, face resting in the crook of his neck, hand right over his heart. It was invigorating, that's for sure, but while Clint's body is tired, his mind can't rest.

He's going to be a dad.

_A dad._

The idea of it is sort of freaking him out. He maintains a steady breathing pattern, avoiding waking up his girlfriend. She's right about how Darcy could freak out enough for the both of them. But the idea of impending parenthood. It's just...

Mind-boggling.

Clint doesn't really have any father figure to base off of. And he knows Darcy probably has similar hangups from the mother front, but (and he'd never say this out loud) at least she had a parental figure, and decent adults in her life.

Who does Clint have to look up to?

His dad was a drunk, killed himself and Clint's mom in a car crash when Clint was six.

All his foster parents were in it for the money provided by the state. Not to help out the kids.

And the circus folk. Swordsman and Trickshot. They weren't really parental figures. Mentos, maybe. At least until Clint knew better.

The only person he could ever truly count on was Barney. And even that went south.

So really? Who could Clint look up to? He always had an issue with authority figures (see previous authority figures), and the first one he ever managed to respect took ten years to happen. And now Phil was gone.

Would his kid hate him? Would Clint be like all the others? And if somehow, miraculously, he managed to impersonate Agent Coulson, would it take until his kid was over the age of ten to respect him?

And was respect what he wanted?

When really, Clint knew, what he wanted most, was love. His kid could hate him for all he cared, as long as, deep down, the kid loved him. That's all he wanted.

It took Clint a long time to figure out that out. Sure, he probably would have figured it out a lot sooner if he listened to Phil and went to the mandated shrink sessions. But whatever, ten years later is better than never, right?

So Clint had issues with believing he deserved love, deserved good people in his life. He would purposely set himself up to disappoint others, believing it was inevitable (see past authority figures, again).

And yeah, for a good while, he had questioned when he would finally drive Darcy away. Hadn't he thought he finally managed that, just earlier that night? And now they were going to have a kid together.

A kid.

There was going to be a little being that was half him.

"Hey," Darcy mumbled, kissing his shoulder. "Go to sleep."

"I will," he kissed her temple.

"You're going to make a great dad."

He couldn't hold back the grin. So what if he was apprehensive. So what if he didn't really know how to be a dad. He made it this far in his life without knowing what he was doing.

And he'd have Darcy at his side all the way.


	5. I Simply Wished

**I Simply Wished**

Tony was not freaking out. He wasn't. Well, he was. It just wasn't like his past few freak outs.

He hadn't freaked out like this in twenty-five years.

And that time, well, it was when his ex-lover/one-night-stand-gone-wrong Elizabeth Lewis had died giving birth to their beautiful daughter.

He had named the girl Darcy because Lizzie would never shut up about the name, saying she would name her the random name just to spite him for getting her pregnant. Like it was _only_ his fault. One of the first 'talks' he had with Darcy was that it _takes two to tango_, and its up to her to take care of her _own_ body. Guys are douches, and when their drunk, extra so.

Tony had wanted to name her Maria after his mother, or Margaret after his Aunt Peggy, but when the final beep went off over Darcy's wails, Tony knew.

Her name would be Darcy. So Lizzie still got to spite him. Whatever.

At least he still had Darcy.

And he had loved that little girl with all his heart. He raised her the best way he knew how (which wasn't much, but whatever, Darcy came out pretty great, so fuck off).

But right now, that was in jeopardy. He might lose her.

So okay, he was freaking out. It was the last thing he had ever thought he would have to experience. He figured he could be the excited grandpa (he was totally going to claim Gramps, just because who could see Tony Stark being called Gramps?) who coddled the future mom.

Instead, he was the scared-as-all-hell dad. Worried beyond belief that he wouldn't get to see his little girl before she left the world because he was stuck on a stupid plane flying over fucking farmland. And it was too soon, and if she did leave this world, he wouldn't be there to say goodbye. And there wouldn't be a baby to soothe the ache of missing his child.

Life sucked.

He was seated on the plane. Staring into the nothing surrounding them as they travelled hundreds of miles per hour. He had filled a glass to the brim with some scotch when they first took off, and other the initial sip to keep it from spilling, he hadn't touched it since. Instead, he swirled the glass in his hands, trying not to think too much.

It wasn't working very well.

Pepper was seated on the plane across the aisle, wringing her hands and chewing her lip, a habit she rarely did. That's how he knew things weren't as okay as she had said. If Darcy was going to end up okay, Pepper would simply be sitting there, maybe biting her lip _or_ wringing her hands. _Not both_.

When the plane had reached altitude and leveled off, she called Rhodey, who was in DC and already on his way to New York. His best friend would be there before him, so at least his daughter would have her godfather. But it wouldn't be the same. Nope, not at all.

Hopefully Clint got ahold of Bruce, as well. Knowing his Science Bro was there to look after his daughter made him relax a smidgen. Until he recalled Lizzie being in the care of the best doctors Howard's money and reputation could buy.

His father had been really excited about becoming a grandfather. Sure, he wasn't happy about the circumstances (Tony was eighteen, finishing college, got drunk and had a good time with an older chick, whatever), but Tony liked to think Howard realized how much of a shit dad he was and wanted another chance.

And the man had it. For all of six years. Before drinking too much and crashing the car to his death.

Was that what would happen to Tony?

Fuck it, he'd be happy to have that happen to him. As long as Darcy made it through whatever this is. He'd be happy to make a deal with God, Odin, Fury if the man had some sort of trick up his SHIELD sleeve, or whoever the fuck necessary to ensure that Darcy would come out of all this okay.

As soon as Darcy pulled through, he was going to have the best doctors in the business examine her and make sure she wouldn't have the same complications as Lizzie had.

And then he'd make a deal with the Devil, and gladly trade his life for his daughter's.

Pepper was having a difficult time keeping her cool. Which was a rare occurrence, to say the least. Especially in front of Tony. She knew that she had to be the reasonable one in their relationship. She could see how much this was all affecting the man. The quieter the man was, the more scared he was.

He was absolutely silent. Had been for the past two hours of the flight.

He was also not drinking.

Making it all the more scary. Pepper knew the man turned to alcohol when in duress. It was something she learned to accept, and was more than okay with when the situation required it. If any time called for a bottle of scotch, now was it. Instead, the man just held the full glass in his hand, ignoring its existence.

She was seriously considering taking it from him and gulping it all down.

She and Darcy had always had a good relationship. And in the past three months, it had only grew stronger. The bond between them was slowly morphing into something like a mother-daughter type thing, and Pepper knew that Darcy was aware of how thankful she was for it.

So, maybe she sort of confessed about the ovarian problems one time while drunk. After that, Darcy didn't really change her behavior, but Pepper could see that the girl was trying to give Pepper what she couldn't have.

And she appreciated it. She really did.

Especially when Darcy had called her after the news about Tony's death had hit. Crying over the phone, the young woman had called her Mom, saying that Pepper was the only parent she had left and that she _better fucking take care of herself, or so help me_. A wet smile graced on her face, while a tear slid down her cheek.

"She's going to be okay," Tony exclaimed, handing her his drink. "So don't cry, or else I'm telling on you."

She wryly chuckled and accepted his drink. Not gulping it down like she had originally intended, she took a large sip. "I'm not crying."

"I beg to differ," the man quipped. Pepper figured he was trying to avoid thinking about the situation and was using her as a distraction. She could be that. "Why the smile and tears?"

"For Christmas, she called me mom."

Tony was silent at that, mouth gaping. "Well then." He shook his head. "That's new."

"Yeah." She took another long pull of scotch. "So she better get out of this okay."

"She will," he resolutely said, patting her hand. And that was a first. It was Tony reassuring her, instead of the other way around. "My girl is a fighter."

"Yeah. Its in her blood. She wouldn't go out like this."

"No, she'd be pissed if she went out like this." Tony ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "She always wanted to go out fighting. But an actual fight. Against bad guys. And only after taking out a fuckton of them."

"That's surprisingly descriptive."

"Eh," he shrugged. "That was a few years ago. Like, right after Afghanistan. It could be different now."

"Either way, I'm sure she didn't think this would be how."

"Naw," Tony sat back into his chair and stared out the window. "She'd be pissed if she didn't at least give birth."

"That's morbid."

"I'm serious. When has Darcy ever _not_ finished something? She'd be pissed if she went out with something unfinished. Especially like that."

"Is that why you mess with her iPod all the time?"

Laughing, Tony grabbed the glass of scotch from Pepper's hand, and gulped it down. "Yeah. If I keep at least one unfinished playlist on there, she won't give up until its fixed." He grinned.

Pepper chuckled, realizing that Starks were all crazy. And happy to have helped Tony not dwell too much. Or at least look at the funny side of things. Something that he and Darcy tended to do normally.

Rhodey had been finishing up a dinner meeting with Major Danvers when he received a call from Pepper. He felt bad for taking it and immediately rushing off after settling the bill, but hearing that Darcy had been rushed to the hospital, well, he had to get there as soon as possible. Luckily the very pretty Major understood and agreed to see him again at a later date.

Darcy was one of the lucky few who never really ever went to the hospital. The girl had lived through years of lab explosions, exposure to unknown chemicals, and _being Tony Stark's daughter_. She had never broken a bone, maybe had the flu once, but other than when she was born, or visiting others, the girl was never in the hospital.

So her being rushed to one was a big deal. A big deal that had Rhodey worried and taking advantage of his connections to get a flight plan for the Iron Patriot from DC directly to Lenox Hill in NYC, getting pre-approval to land on the helipad at the hospital.

So now he was flying over the eastern seaboard, trying to figure out why Darcy would be rushed to the hospital. Was the tower attacked when the team was away? Had Bruce Hulked out and Darcy ended up as collateral damage? Did she finally succumb to sickness and her immune system couldn't handle it?

It was so bad that Tony and Pepper had dropped everything and left Los Angeles. And it was Pepper calling him, his best friend quiet in the background, no snark anywhere. Something had to be _really_ wrong if Tony was silent.

Pushing the suit to its absolute limits, he sent all power to the thrusters and hoped to get there sooner.

"Okay, I have a driver waiting downstairs to bring you both to Lennox Hill," Bruce said, removing his glasses and pocketing them.

"Is it that serious?" Clint asked, not taking his eyes off of a crying Darcy as he pushed the wheelchair in the direction of the elevator.

Stepping onto the elevator, Bruce gave them the bare minimum of his diagnosis, and it wasn't even one. It was more a retelling of the symptoms, which would help when they reached the hospital. "I'm not that kind of doctor, but Darcy's blood pressure is 150/110, which is too high. Her protein levels are higher than I'd like as well. That, with the stomach pains and her swelling hands... I'd think it best if she saw an actual doctor," Bruce clutched the fingers of his other hand, twisting. This was his best friend's daughter, and he tried to keep the fear from seeping into his voice as well as keep the Other Guy at bay. This was the absolute worse time he could feel afraid and let it affect him. He had to hold back. At least wait until Darcy and Clint were out of the way.

"Thanks, Bruce." Darcy reached for his hand, stopping his fidgeting, and squeezed it. "When you can, meet us at the hospital okay? I think my dad is going to need you."

"Yeah, thanks Doc." Clint shook his hand and led them to the town car waiting outside the lobby.

"I'll call ahead and let them know what I found. Should shave some time and help."

Clint nodded, then lifted Darcy from the chair into the vehicle.

Bruce watched as they drove off. He would have to take advantage of the Hulk-proof basement Tony installed for a little bit and then follow them to the hospital. He should be able to get there before Tony arrived, and then offer any assistance he could.

He tried telling himself that he was just being paranoid. That the symptoms were just worrisome when combined and considering her family history. It was too soon, though, and it could just be Darcy freaking out in general. Clint had mentioned they were speaking to Tony for the first time since his supposed death.

Taking a deep breath, he walked into the elevator, and pressed the large green button at the bottom.

Clint was pacing in the waiting room. This was the most expressive he had been in his whole SHIELD career, but he was worried. He had already called Sitwell and told him he was taking vacation, effective immediately. When his handler had asked for how long and why, Clint had barely managed to choke out that he didn't know and Darcy was in the hospital.

Luckily Sitwell was trained by Phil, and had understood. Clint was off-duty until further notice, and that was barely a sigh of relief.

Maybe, if this all turned out to be something small (and how he hoped it really was), he could use the vacation time and take Darcy somewhere special. She had been complaining about how they had only ever spent time together in the tower, or in bumfuck New Mexico. He was sure Tony had some great resort somewhere he'd recommend. They could go to Europe, maybe London and just do a whole BBC tv show tour thing. He was sure Darcy would enjoy that. Find where Sherlock lived or pretend she was the Doctor's companion or something. She was a weird chick, but he loved her all the more for it.

And she was being tested for God only knew what. Clint hadn't prayed since he was a young kid and his mother would force him and Barney to do so before sleeping. But right then, he sent a small prayer asking that Darcy end up okay. The baby, he'd be happy if he or she was healthy, but really, he _needed_ Darcy to come out of all this alive and healthy.

He had no idea what he'd do without her. To go back to his life before. It wouldn't really be possible. Tasha had already warned him about it. Explaining, after that first weekend he had snuck away to visit her, that agents don't do normal relationships, and when they do, they don't come back from them. He had laughed her off at the time, but right then, he knew she was absolutely correct.

And fuck that. He owed her a mission now, when she got back. Just realizing was enough to have to pay up. Natasha was all about the semantics.

But that would be okay. So long as Darcy was still with him. Alive. Healthy. Totally able to bounce back to her usual perky self.

Was that too much to ask?

"Mr. Barton?" A nurse called, stopping him from further wearing the floor by pacing. "We've finished running the tests and have Miss Lewis in a private room, sleeping. If you'd like to wait there," she gestured in a specific direction, "I can lead the way."

"Sure," he exhaled, rubbing his eyes before following her. "Do they know if she's going to be okay?"

"Not at this time. They took down her vitals and a few samples so that they could determine the cause. As soon as they know, you'll be notified." She opened the door to a large room that looked more like a hotel than a hospital.

"Nice digs."

"Stark Industries donates generously to our hospital yearly, and Maria Stark had originally paid to renovate our children's ward, which is right down the hall. This room is exclusively meant for a Stark."

"Nice," he replied, stepping into the room and dragging a chair towards the bedside. He didn't hear the nurse leave, simply placed a hand on Darcy's, and leaned his head down into the crook of her neck, taking a deep breath in. "Hey, Darcy."

Twining their fingers, he leaned forward and kissed her nose. "You have me really scared here. Like, I don't really have anything to compare this to. Maybe Budapest? No, not really. That has nothing on this. I promise, though, if you get healthy, I'll totally tell you the story about it. Screw the consequences. Tasha will understand."

"I don't know," she breathed out, scrunching her eyes from the bright light. "She's pretty scary when she wants to be. And she's adamant that _no one_ should know about Budapest."

With a wry chuckle, Clint shook his head, then pressed his lips to hers. "How you feeling?"

"Like crap," she huffed, finally opening her eyes. "As bad as you look."

"Har har."

"Did the doctors say anything?"

"Just that they finished running the tests, nothing is conclusive yet. The nurse said they'd let us know as soon as they do."

"Okay." She squeezed his hand, holding back tears. "Clint," she whispered, "I'm scared."

"Me too, babe. Me too."

Since the phone call with her dad, all she could think about was how her mother died giving birth to her. Would she go out like that? Would this baby be the death of her? Like she was to her mom? She hadn't really thought about it since she was five, perfectly content with the parent she did have.

"My mom died giving birth to me, you know." She looked him in the eyes, trying to explain her fear without really saying anything.

"You're not going to. First of all, it's too early. Secondly, you're a fighter. And our kid will be a fighter."

"You don't know for sure, though," she cried, pulling him up onto the bed with her. She let him rearrange them so he sat with his back to the headboard and she nestled into his arms. "And what if I don't even make it to give birth? At least my dad had me, you know? I know him and my mom didn't really love each other. Just a one night stand gone wrong, but still."

"You would definitely make up for a lot of the wrong that has happened in Tony's life."

Placing her hands on her small belly, she gave a small smile. "And our baby will do that for you."

"Don't talk like that, Darce." Clint moved his arms so that his hands rested on top of hers. Twining their fingers together, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Our baby is going to grow up with the most awesome mom."

"And awesome dad."

"And ridiculous grandfather."

"Ha! And overprotective aunts and uncles." Smiling now, she squeezed his hands. This was why she loved Clint. He was serious when he needed to be, but he could cheer her up in a heartbeat.

"It would be pretty cool to grow up with a bunch of superheroes, though. Our kid is going to be pretty lucky."

"Oh my Thor! I'm going to have to get him or her all the Avengers merchandise!" Letting go of his hands, she clapped hers excitedly. That was something to look forward to. Everything would end up alright, and tomorrow she'd make Clint, Pepper, and her dad go to Target with her to buy out the Avengers toy aisle. Maybe they'd even have a cute purple onesie with a hawk on it?

Knowing what Darcy was thinking, Clint mused, "Will our kid have more purple or red-and-gold, I wonder?"

"Black and red. For Nat." Nodding to show she was happy with that decision, she grinned up at him. Burrowing into him, she hugged his arms, and sighed, "I love you, Clint."

"Everything is going to be alright."

And because she loved him so much, she decided to believe him.


End file.
